Present day fire extinguisher equipment suffers from several defects resulting in inferior performance and greater cost to the consumer.
First, present day fire extinguishers are often not designed to release the maximum amount of extinguishing fluid stored within the extinguisher. The extinguishing fluid is expelled through a rigid tube having an opening at the center of the lowest part of the extinguisher. While this configuration will release most of the extinguishing fluid when the extinguisher maintains an upright position, the bottom of the rigid tube loses contact with the extinguishing fluid when the extinguisher is rotated from an upright position. In the case of an extinguisher in a horizontal position, nearly half of the extinguishing fluid may remain within the extinguisher's container. Some extinguishers have been designed using a weight to bend the end of the tube toward the lowest point of the extinguisher regardless of orientation. Although this method increases the amount of extinguishing fluid released, it suffers from increased weight and cost of the fire extinguisher.
A second problem concerning the fire extinguisher, especially those using a Halon extinguishing compound, is improper dispersion of the extinguishing compound through the nozzle. Halon compound are neither gas nor liquid when discharged, but rather, miniature droplets surrounded by an atmosphere of gas. Previous discharge nozzles are ineffective, being designed for either gas or liquid.
A further problem associated with fire extinguishers is that they are generally not designed for both automatic (automatically releasing the extinguishing compound when a certain predetermined temperature is reached) and manual (releasing the extinguishing compound upon an action performed by the operator) operation. It is very desirable that an extinguisher can be used for both automatic and manual operation, without resulting in excessive cost to the consumer.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a fire extinguisher which is capable of releasing all of its extinguishing compound regardless of orientation, and is capable of either automatic or manual operation. Furthermore, a need has arisen for a nozzle which is effective in dispersing Halon extinguisher compounds.